


Heart of Stone

by Aini_NuFire



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Drama, Gen, Hurt Lancelot (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29941551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aini_NuFire/pseuds/Aini_NuFire
Summary: After saving a damsel in distress, Lancelot finds himself the recipient of unwanted advances. She’s determined to have his heart, though, one way or another…
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

"Anyone up for a race?" Gwaine asked, nudging his horse into a short trot to take the lead.

"We're on _patrol_ ," Leon replied long-sufferingly.

"Nothing's happened in the past four weeks. I'm bored."

"Well, now you've jinxed it," Percival said.

"I think it's a nice day for a leisurely ride," Elyan put in.

"It's a nice day for a race."

Lancelot just shook his head in amusement as he brought up the rear of their patrol. It was true, there hadn't been any trouble in weeks, though like Leon, he considered that a _good_ thing. That didn't mean he didn't also appreciate a bit of excitement now and then, and he was considering taking Gwaine up on that race when a scream rent the air.

They all pulled their horses to a stop and whipped their gazes in the direction it had come from.

"I told you you jinxed it," Percival huffed as they kicked their steeds into a canter to go investigate.

A short ways up ahead, they came upon a group of bandits chasing a lone woman through the woods on foot. At that moment, she tripped and went sprawling on the ground. The knights leaped from their horses and drew their swords, rushing to the woman's defense.

Lancelot reached her first just as one of the bandits was almost on top of her. The man had to quickly adjust focus to the knight, swinging his blade almost haphazardly. Lancelot easily deflected it and aggressively riposted in several quick successions in order to drive the bandit back from the woman. The man's nostrils flared with fury and he attempted to turn the tables on Lancelot, but he was no match for a knight of Camelot. With one final thrust, Lancelot deftly dispatched his opponent.

The other knights were finishing off the rest of the bandits, so Lancelot turned to the woman still on the ground. She looked up at him with wariness, her hair disheveled and clothes dirty. She had a hand-carved wooden box clutched tightly against her chest.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently, holding out a hand to help her up.

She regarded him for a moment before slightly uncurling and taking his hand so he could pull her to her feet. "Yes, thank you."

Lancelot glanced around the area again now that it was quiet, and his fellow knights made their way over.

"My lady," Leon greeted. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, turning a grateful gaze on Lancelot again.

"Are you out in these woods all alone?" he asked in concern.

"My carriage broke down," she answered quickly. "My servant went for help while I stayed behind, but then those horrible men came and I was forced to flee. They chased me." She sidled closer to Lancelot. "I'm very fortunate you came to my rescue just in time. And what is the name of my knight in shining armor?"

Lancelot saw his friends exchanging arched brows with each other. "I'm Lancelot," he replied. "And that's Sir Leon, Sir Gwaine, Sir Percival, and Sir Elyan. We are knights of Camelot."

"Camelot," she repeated musingly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Lancelot. My name is Minara."

Behind her, Gwaine was making faces at being so blatantly ignored, despite the fact they'd all come to this woman's rescue.

"May we take you back to your carriage?" Lancelot offered.

"Oh, no. I'm sure it is lost by now."

"Won't your servant be worried when he returns?" Elyan put in.

Minara barely glanced his way. "He was never that loyal. I suspect going for help was just an excuse to run off."

Lancelot shared a dubious look with the other knights.

"What about your belongings?" Leon pressed.

"I had little of value. This is my most prized possession," she said, glancing down at the box she was still holding tightly.

"What is it?" Gwaine asked.

"The last few mementos I have of my family."

Lancelot heard the solemnity in her tone and felt a pang of sympathy for her. He knew what it was like to lose one's entire family. "Come," he said, "we'll take you back to Camelot."

She flashed him another look of gratitude and as the knights went to retrieve their horses, she stuck close to Lancelot. He supposed that meant Minara would be riding with him. He gave her a boost up into his horse's saddle, then climbed up behind her, and they all headed home.

Once they arrived back at the castle, the knights escorted Minara to the main chamber where Arthur had been conducting business all day. Arthur looked up and quirked a brow at their entrance.

"You're back early."

"We ran into some bandits," Leon reported. "This is Minara," he added, gesturing to the woman in their midst. "She had been traveling through Camelot when she was beset by the bandits. Minara, I present Prince Arthur."

She stepped forward and curtsied before him. "Your Highness. Your knights do you credit coming to a lowly woman's aid."

Arthur cast a quick appraising eye over her fine dress, despite its worn-out condition. "What kingdom are you traveling from?"

"One that is far away and no more," she replied sadly. "Once, I was the daughter of a noble, but my father is dead and I have nothing left."

"Well, you are welcome as a guest in Camelot."

Minara curtsied again. "You are most gracious, Sire."

Arthur smiled genially and waved to Merlin who was standing off to the side. "My manservant Merlin will see you to some chambers."

Merlin moved forward, but Minara sidestepped toward Lancelot and smoothly slipped her arm around his.

"Would you help me up the stairs?" she asked, blinking doe eyes at him. "I'm feeling a touch faint."

Lancelot floundered for a moment at the unexpected request, though chivalry of course demanded he acquiesce. So he awkwardly lifted his arm to link with hers and turned toward the doors, casting a look over his shoulder at the others, who looked equally bemused. Merlin followed, barely suppressing an amused grin.

Lancelot escorted Minara up to the wing of the castle reserved for guests and to one of the chambers. Merlin darted ahead to open the door for them. Minara kept a hold of Lancelot's arm even once they were inside, and he tried to delicately extract himself.

"I hope this is sufficient," he said.

"Compared to being on the road, this is marvelous," she said, turning to him with a bright smile.

Lancelot cleared his throat. "Well, if you need anything, let Merlin know."

With that, he beat a hasty retreat. Merlin followed, Minara apparently not needing anything at the moment. The manservant jogged to catch up with Lancelot in the corridor.

"She seems friendly," he remarked.

"She's just grateful we saved her life," Lancelot replied.

Merlin hummed thoughtfully. "That does seem to be an effective way to woo women."

"Maybe you should try it sometime."

"Hey, I've saved people—even the whole kingdom!—plenty of times," Merlin huffed. "Only no one knows about it."

"Tough break."

Merlin rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "See you at dinner. I'm sure Minara will be grateful for a decent meal too."

Lancelot just shook his head and they parted ways to finish up their duties for the day.

.o.0.o.

Merlin circled the front half of the long table where Arthur, the knights, and Minara were gathered for supper, making sure their goblets stayed full. As the prince's guest, Minara was seated to Arthur's right, while Lancelot was on the left three seats down. Unfortunately for the knight, the distance wasn't enough to keep Minara from trying to engage him in conversation throughout the evening.

"How long have you been a knight of Camelot, Sir Lancelot?" she asked.

Lancelot faltered, an abashed flush creeping up his neck. "Uh, only a few months, actually. You see, I'm not a noble. For a long time, the Code prevented anyone who wasn't noble-born to serve as a knight. But Arthur changed that." He cast a short nod of gratitude toward Arthur.

If he'd hoped to deflect attention, it backfired.

"Lancelot is being modest," Arthur interjected. "He proved himself a knight of Camelot three years ago when we first met. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented him from staying, but I'm glad he's with us now." Arthur raised his goblet toward his knight, which only served to swing Minara's rapt gaze back to him.

"We were all knighted at the same time," Elyan put in, gesturing to himself and Percival and Gwaine. "And we all come from common backgrounds."

"Not noble-born yet still you devoted yourself to this life, this Code," Minara said, sounding impressed, and still only having eyes for Lancelot. "That is very noble."

"I could have no better men in my service even if they had come from noble houses," Arthur said with obvious pride.

Merlin leaned in-between two people to refill their goblets and caught Gwaine rolling his eyes across the table. Merlin shot a dry look back at him; it was his own fault everyone believed he was in that commoner group.

"Tell us about your homeland," Arthur said to Minara. "You said your kingdom is no more; what happened?"

"How does any kingdom fall?" she replied casually. "War." She turned back to Lancelot. "Where did you go those years you were away from Camelot? Traveling the kingdoms rescuing other damsels in distress?" she asked, flashing him a coy smile.

Merlin flicked a look at Lancelot; there had been that incident of rescuing Gwen from Hengist.

Lancelot, however, appeared uncomfortable as he gave a vague response of being a sword for hire.

Elyan again tried to inject himself in the conversation, and Lancelot even tried passing the torch to Percival to tell a story of the two of them on the road together, but Minara inevitably kept steering the direction back to him.

Merlin went to the serving table along the wall to refill his pitcher. Gwen was there as well, replenishing her tray of fruits to serve to the latter half of the banquet table.

"Our guest seems more interested in Lancelot than anyone else," she commented quietly.

Merlin paused and quirked a curious look at her. "Are you jealous?"

"Of course not," she whispered strongly.

Merlin glanced over his shoulder, then leaned closer. "I know you and Lancelot used to…"

Gwen cut him off. "That was a long time ago. Lancelot is free to take interest in anyone he pleases."

Merlin didn't think Lancelot was interested, though, given the almost pained look on his face as he kept indulging Minara's attentions at the table. Merlin had been amused at first, but now he felt a bit sorry for his friend. He briefly entertained the thought of "accidentally" spilling some wine in Minara's lap, but Arthur would have him mucking the stables for a month. His friend would just have to endure the flattery for the evening. There were certainly worse tortures in life.

Of course, the festivities went on for a couple more hours before it was an appropriate time to wind down for the night.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Prince Arthur," Minara said. "It has been a long time since I've had such pleasant company."

Arthur inclined his head back at her. "You are welcome to stay for as long as you like."

She beamed at that and swung her gaze Lancelot's way, even though he was in the process of excusing himself from the table with the other knights.

"I might take you up on that, Your Highness."


	2. Chapter 2

Lancelot tried to focus on his sparring session with Elyan and not let Minara's presence at the edge of the training field distract him. She had been in Camelot for a few days and had made no secret of her interest in Lancelot, seeking him out at every turn and attempting to monopolize his attention. If he'd been uncomfortable in the beginning, now he was downright edgy and embarrassed by it.

He exchanged a round of parrying and riposting with Elyan before finally catching the other knight's sword at the hilt and, with a deft twist, wrenched it out of his grip. Elyan huffed in minor irritation as Lancelot settled his blade on his shoulder, claiming the victory.

On the sidelines, Minara let out a delighted cheer and applauded. Lancelot grimaced; this was neither the time nor place to be lauding him over his fellow knights. At least none of them seemed to hold it against him. Elyan picked up his sword and clapped Lancelot on the arm before heading off the field.

Lancelot walked over to where his waterskin lay in the grass and picked it up to take a drink. Minara quickly made her way toward him, and he bit back another cringe at her bright smile.

"Your prowess in combat is impressive," she complimented. "Of course it must be, since you fought those bandits off so easily."

"Single-handedly," Gwaine muttered a few feet away.

Lancelot shot him a dry scowl while Minara appeared not to have heard him.

"That is why we train so hard," he replied and took another drink of water.

"But surely even knights must take a break now and then," she said. "It's such a lovely day. Perhaps we could go on a picnic." She batted her eyelashes at him in that way that most men would fall over themselves for, but Lancelot couldn't help feeling rubbed the wrong way.

"I'm afraid I have many duties to see to today," he hedged. "But I'm sure Sir Gwaine would love to take you on a picnic." He tossed a pointed look at his friend, who blinked in surprise for a moment before quickly donning a dashing smile and sauntering over.

"It would be my pleasure," he said.

Minara's face fell into a disappointed moue. "That's all right," she said flippantly. "Perhaps another time."

With that, she turned and walked away from the training field. Lancelot sighed in a mixture of guilt and relief.

"Well, that hurts," Gwaine said in mock affront. He turned to Lancelot. "What's wrong with you, anyway? A beautiful woman is fawning over you and you want nothing to do with her."

Lancelot's jaw tightened. None of the other knights knew about his history with Gwen, so of course they wouldn't understand. And he had no intention of explaining it, not when his past with Gwen was just that, in the past, and she was with Arthur now.

"I really do have things to do," he said instead and gathered up his items to leave training early.

.o.0.o.

Merlin picked his way through the meadow, scanning the myriad flora for the herbs Gaius had sent him out to pick. Lancelot trailed behind, having made a hasty excuse to join him when he'd spotted Merlin on his way out of the citadel.

"Sage, right?" Lancelot said, standing a few feet away over a bushel.

Merlin went over to get a look. "Yup!" He bent down and started pruning the plant. "That's the last one."

"We don't have to head back right away."

Merlin flashed a grin up at his friend. "You're just hiding from Minara."

Lancelot exhaled heavily. "She's rather persistent and hasn't taken the hint from my polite rebuffs."

"She seems nice enough." Merlin finished picking the last of the sage and stood up.

"I'm not saying she isn't, but I am simply not interested," Lancelot said firmly. He sighed. "I would never regret saving someone, but maybe next time I'll let one of the other knights be the one to rush in and rescue the damsel."

Merlin smirked sympathetically at him. "Hopefully she'll lose interest soon and move on to someone more willing."

"Hopefully." Lancelot looked back toward the castle and grimaced, then turned to Merlin. "You're sure Gaius doesn't need anything else?"

Merlin shook his head with a fond smile and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "No, but tell you what, you can help me organize the bundles when we get back."

Lancelot returned the smile and they headed back to the citadel. But they failed to reach Gaius's chambers before they came across Arthur in the courtyard.

"Lancelot, there you are."

"Sire, my apologies for leaving training early. Merlin needed some help with an errand for Gaius."

Merlin cast a sidelong glance at his friend. Oh sure, blame the bumbling manservant.

Lancelot flicked an apologetic look at him.

Arthur blinked in confusion. "Oh, I see. But that wasn't why I was looking for you."

"Oh."

Merlin almost rolled his eyes. So he'd been thrown under the wagon wheel for nothing.

"What can I do for you, Sire?" Lancelot went on.

Arthur shifted awkwardly. "Well, I had an interesting conversation with Lady Minara this morning."

Merlin saw Lancelot automatically stiffen at the mention of her.

"She was under the impression that perhaps knights needed permission from their liege lord to court." Arthur cleared his throat. "And she, well, expressed an interest in you."

Lancelot's mouth sputtered soundlessly, and even Merlin raised an eyebrow at that. The woman could barely get the knight to stay in the same space as her for longer than five minutes and she wanted a betrothal?

"I told her my knights did not need my blessing in such matters," Arthur continued, then hesitated. "You should think about it," he added more tentatively. "She seems a lovely girl, and it could be a good match."

Merlin suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and a quick look at Lancelot showed he looked sick at the suggestion. Even Arthur seemed discomfited, and the truth was all three of them knew what this was about—Lancelot had sworn his heart to Gwen and even though she had chosen Arthur, there would be no other for him. And Arthur had to live with that hanging in the background, so his pushing Lancelot into a relationship now had little to do with whether the knight wanted it or not, which he clearly did not.

"Please convey my regrets to the Lady Minara," Lancelot said stiffly, "but I must respectfully decline."

With that, he turned on his heel and didn't even wait for his prince's dismissal before quickly leaving.

Merlin shot Arthur a pointed look. "You can't go around arranging marriages for your knights."

"That wasn't what I was doing," Arthur rejoined defensively. "Minara came to me first."

"Practically asking for Lancelot's hand in marriage when she's barely spent any time with him!"

"That is how it's done with noble families," Arthur pointed out dryly.

"Lancelot isn't a noble."

"But he is a knight. And like you said, he's barely spent any time with her, so how can he know whether there couldn't be something between them?"

Merlin wanted to retort that Arthur knew why, but he held his tongue. Both of them cast swift looks around the courtyard, suddenly aware this wasn't the place for this. Arthur turned and headed off in the opposite direction Lancelot had gone, and Merlin went to Gaius's chambers to drop off the herbs. But instead of sorting them into bundles like he was supposed to, he decided to seek out Minara.

Since Lancelot had made himself scarce for the past couple of hours, Merlin checked her chambers first. He paused outside the closed door and rapped his knuckles against the wood smartly, then waited for a response. He didn't get one, but he thought he heard sounds of a scuffle within.

"Lady Minara, is everything all right?" he called through the door, straining his ears to listen.

There were a few more harried sounds, maybe furniture getting bumped? Merlin was debating whether to barge in and make sure Minara was all right when the door finally cracked open and Minara peered out at him. A few strands of hair were out of place and she looked a bit frazzled.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Is everything all right?" Merlin repeated his earlier question.

"Yes, of course," she replied, slightly out of breath. "I was taking a nap."

And she'd…startled out of bed?

"I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "I was wondering if I could have a moment? It's about Lancelot."

Her eyes glinted with intrigue at that and she opened the door to allow him admittance. Merlin cast a quick look around the room; everything seemed in order. He turned to face Minara, who was angling herself slightly away from him, her right arm tucked behind her back.

"What about Lancelot?" she asked.

Merlin shifted awkwardly. "Um, Arthur informed him of your conversation. The thing is, Lancelot isn't interested in a relationship right now."

Minara's eyes flashed darkly and she lifted her chin. "And he sent a servant to tell me this?"

"No! Lancelot is too kind-hearted to do that. He's also too kind to shoot you down directly," Merlin mentioned half under his breath. "But he's my friend and I thought I could…try to help smooth things over between you. Neither of us wants to see your heart get too invested when there's no chance."

"I see," she said stiffly.

"It's nothing personal against you," Merlin hastily added. "Lancelot just isn't open to anyone right now. His whole focus is on being a knight."

That was a partial truth, but Merlin wasn't going to get into the real reason.

"He wanted to convey his respectful regrets but he must decline your offer," he went on.

Minara gazed at him hard for a long moment, then drew her shoulders back. "If Lancelot truly doesn't want anything to do with me, I'm afraid he'll have to tell me that himself."

Merlin grimaced. Well, now that was going to be an awkward conversation he had to have with the knight.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," he said and made to leave, but the sight of Minara's box on the vanity drew his attention. The lid stood open, and Merlin could see something misshapen and discolored inside. He paused, curiosity getting the better of him. Not that he made a move toward it; that would be rude. He couldn't really identify the strange lump from his vantage point anyway.

But Minara noticed where his gaze was drawn and abruptly rushed past him, hurrying over and slamming the lid closed. She then snatched the box up protectively in one hand, her right arm still held rigidly behind her back.

"I would like you to leave now," she said tersely.

"Right, sorry," Merlin said, frowning in confusion as he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. He paused right before sealing it shut to glance back inside. Minara was still glaring at him.

He quickly shut the door and retreated down the hall, wondering what could be inside that box and why she was acting so strange about it.


	3. Chapter 3

The stables were perhaps not the most secretive place Lancelot could hide out in, but at least he could pass off his presence there as doing some work, rather than shirking all his responsibilities. What he really needed was another patrol duty. A lengthy one to the edge of the kingdom that might require a night or two out under the stars.

"Thought I'd find you here."

Lancelot looked up from the horse he was grooming as Merlin made his way down the aisle.

"Relax, I'm alone," the manservant said with a cheeky grin.

Lancelot rolled his eyes and went back to brushing down the mare.

"Um, so listen," Merlin went on, tone now serious and tinged with regret. "I may have, sort of, tried to help you out by talking to Minara and telling her you weren't interested."

Lancelot stopped what he was doing and threw his friend a sharp look. "You didn't."

"You didn't seem like you were going to."

He groaned. Merlin meant well, but sometimes he took the initiative a bit too far. "And how did she take it?"

"Not well. She said if you weren't interested, you were going to have to tell her yourself."

Lancelot sighed. He _had_ been telling her. Maybe not in those exact words, but he was trying to be gentle about letting her down. She just refused to listen.

"There's something else," Merlin went on, lowering his voice.

Lancelot moved around the horse to reach him, brow furrowed at his tone. "What?"

"She seemed…out of sorts, when I went to see her. And that box she was carrying, it was open on the vanity. I couldn't tell what was inside but it looked weird. And then Minara got very upset that I was even looking at it and kicked me out."

Lancelot frowned. "Well, she did say it was private."

Merlin shook his head. "I don't know, I just got a feeling something was up with her."

"Are you going to try to get a look inside the box again?"

"That's the plan." Merlin flashed him a confident grin, then faltered. "Uh, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind providing a distraction." He grimaced guiltily. "Since we both know Minara is enraptured by you."

Lancelot huffed in irritation, but after a moment's thought, he grudgingly agreed. "All right."

If Merlin's instinct was warning him of something, Lancelot trusted it.

He put the horse brush back in its place and headed out. "You owe me," he told the warlock over his shoulder.

Merlin nodded in fervent agreement as they made their way back into the castle. Lancelot paused as they passed a mirror to make sure he looked presentable. Or maybe he was stalling.

In the corridor of Minara's guest chambers, Merlin ducked out of sight, leaving Lancelot to execute this part of the plan on his own. He took a breath to steel himself and went to knock on her door.

It opened immediately in a rush, Minara glaring harshly out at him. She instantly faltered, clutching the doorjamb almost nervously.

"Sir Lancelot."

"My lady," he greeted with a slight bow.

"I wasn't expecting you…"

Wasn't expecting him to come say to her face what Merlin had tried to? Lancelot would have preferred that at this point, but a surreptitious glance down the corridor toward where his friend was hiding reminded him there was a point to this. He just hoped it was a good one.

"I was wondering if you would like to accompany me on a walk," he said.

She arched a surprised brow, her expression swiftly melting into one of delight. "I would like that very much," she replied, slipping out of her room and closing the door behind her. She had her arm linked with his before he could even offer it.

With a forced smile in return, Lancelot turned and led her down the corridor toward the stairs, careful not to look at the alcove where Merlin was waiting. He took Minara out to the veranda along the east wing, keeping his stride at a nice, leisurely pace.

"I have seen you with your friends," Minara spoke up. "You are not so tightlipped with them. Are you uncomfortable around all women or is it just me?" she asked with a coy smile.

Lancelot hesitated, unsure how to respond without giving offense.

She giggled and squeezed his arm. "I find it rather charming."

Of course she did.

"Your servant Merlin seemed adamant that you were not interested in me," she went on. "What changed your mind?"

"Merlin is my friend, not my servant," Lancelot immediately corrected, then grimaced. He was supposed to be keeping Minara occupied, not trying to chase her off again. "I realized I haven't given you a fair chance," he said. "I apologize for that. You are alone in a strange kingdom; I know what that's like. Merlin was the one to befriend me when I came to Camelot. I believe I should be that for someone else in need of a friend."

Minara smiled up at him, something of a satisfied look in her eye. "That is very noble of you," she remarked, pressing closer. "Very noble."

Lancelot tried to swallow down his awkwardness and keep the conversation going so Merlin would have enough time to investigate her room. And while he didn't necessarily want his friend to find trouble, Lancelot really hoped it was worth this.

.o.0.o.

Merlin waited a few moments after Lancelot and Minara left, just in case she forgot something and came back. When it seemed like they were well on their way on their walk, he slipped down the corridor to her door and let himself into her room. The box was no longer on the vanity, but it didn't take long to search the sparse furniture before he found it inside the armoire cabinet.

It was such an innocuous looking thing, didn't even weigh that much. Merlin brought it over to the table and carefully opened the lid. The pungent smell hit his nose abruptly, making him wrinkle it in revulsion. He couldn't believe he hadn't smelled it from across the room earlier. What on earth was it? It looked like chunks of some kind of ruddy brown, squishy organ. Liver maybe? But what was Minara doing carrying around chopped up bits of animal organs? Maybe she was a sorceress; they sometimes used animal parts in spells. Merlin needed to ask Gaius.

He cast his gaze around the room, then went back to the armoire and pulled out one of the handkerchiefs from the shelves. Grimacing in disgust, he used it to reach into the box and pick out a piece, then quickly wrapped it in the cloth. Merlin then closed the lid and placed the box back where he'd found it. He was out of the room and heading for Gaius's chambers without anyone spotting him or running into Lancelot and Minara.

"Ah, Merlin," Gaius said as he came blustering in. "You forgot to separate the herbs."

"Something came up," he replied, pulling out the handkerchief and setting it on the work table. He folded back the ends, revealing the piece of meat. "I found this in Minara's room, in that box she claimed contained the only personal mementos from her family. But the only thing in it is a few chunks of animal liver. Do you think she could be a sorceress?"

Gaius looked flummoxed as he came closer to examine the organ. He hummed thoughtfully and reached out a finger to poke the tissue, rolling it over. Merlin scrunched his face up at that.

"This is not liver," he said. "It's a heart, or a piece of it. And by the looks of it, a human one."

Merlin's brows rose sharply. "A human heart? What would Minara be doing carrying around that? Do you think she could be planning something against Camelot?"

"I have no idea," Gaius replied, going to his bookshelf and perusing the tomes. "I can research spells that use a human heart. Perhaps if we had an idea of what she was capable of, we could predict her next move."

Merlin nodded and went to help. He winced as he realized Lancelot was probably going to have to keep Minara occupied a little while longer…

.o.0.o.

"I had a nice time," Minara said as Lancelot escorted her back to her room. "Prince Arthur has given me an open invitation to dine with him at his table every night, but perhaps we could share a meal just the two of us, get to know each other better?"

Lancelot held himself stiff as a board. "Um…I will have to check with Sir Leon about the duty schedule for this evening," he hedged.

Minara huffed in frustration. Despite Lancelot's apparent change of heart, he was still being remarkably distant and standoffish with her. She couldn't decide whether it was endearing or he was playing _too_ hard to get. But she would not be dissuaded.

"Do let me know," she replied with a sultry smile before an itch up her arm distracted her. She mentally cursed the timing and bid him a rather swift farewell, not that he seemed to mind, and slipped into her guest chambers.

She looked down at her arm and the skin turning a hard, mottled gray. She was running out of time.

Minara hurried across the room to the armoire and threw the cabinet doors open, snatching up her box from the shelf. She flipped the lid open urgently, only to freeze as she looked inside. There was one piece missing.

She whipped her gaze around the room, clutching the box protectively to her stomach. But she was alone, and there was no evidence anyone had been in here. If a nosy servant had discovered her box and its contents, no doubt they would have made an uproar in the castle.

And yet she could have sworn she had more left.

Her skin itched fiercely, drying out and hardening even as she stood there. Perhaps her mind was deteriorating just like her body. She plucked a rubbery chunk out of the box and popped it in her mouth, savoring the barest hint of juice left inside the tissues after all this time. She swallowed hard and then exhaled, feeling her porous skin begin to smooth out. Lifting her arm, she turned it slightly, examining the once again soft pink flesh. She then looked back at the few remaining pieces in the bottom of the box. They would not last her much longer at this rate. She needed to act quickly.

She shut the lid and set the box back in the armoire, then looked around the room for what tools were at her disposal. It was time to make Sir Lancelot hers.

And she would not be taking no for an answer.


End file.
